Gems
by Lauren Wagner
Summary: It's Mother's Day for Mystique


Raven woke up slowly; her golden eyes flickering open lightly. She turned her head slightly to the side to see what day it was, and she immediately closed her eyes and turned her head away once more.  
  
It was May eighth, she hated that day more than any other day for one simple reason; it was Mother's Day.  
  
Only the humans would be the ones to make a holiday that would spread happiness for everyone else BUT her. Only they could decide to set aside one day of the year for the mother's the world.  
  
Sure, it was a good idea for those who were good mothers, but what kind of message was that for women like Raven? What good was this day for the woman who had thrown away her first born son, sent away her second to an orphanage for being human, and then disowned her adopted daughter for deciding to side with the enemy which by the way; had happened to have her first born son on the team.  
  
Where the hell did that leave her on this day?  
  
Groaning, Raven closed her eyes for a moment, fighting the urge to let tears fall. Tears were for the weak, and she was not one of the weak.  
  
Opening her eyes, raven slid out of bed and stretched out her lithe body a bit.  
  
What did she need with Mother's Day anyway? She didn't need anyone to go up and tell her that she was a good mother, she knew for a fact that she wasn't, and quite frankly she didn't give a crap what anyone said or thought of her maternal instincts.  
  
Survival. That was what Raven was about. Nothing but survival of the fittest for the warrior known as Mystique and in that category was herself and no one else. After all, if you let someone else into your heart, it would only crush it when something bad happened to them in the end now didn't it?  
  
She would have liked to see her first born grow up though. He was a mixture of her and his father, and she had loved his father, even if she was only there on an espionage mission. He had died of a stroke, and she had only stayed because she had decided to stay and fully become Lady Wagner.  
  
But that had been ruined by the hysteria caused by that damned birthing nurse. She had screamed and left Raven alone with the child while she went to round up the villagers to kill the witch and her demon child. Raven had been forced to cut the umbilical cord with her teeth, making them sharper for the occasion.  
  
Her maternal instincts had kicked in however, and she had loved and tried to protect her child, but then self-preservation came knocking and she had thrown him away like trash the first chance she got before running off to the border.  
  
Sometimes her maternal instincts kicked in when dealing with Kurt, and she often found herself unable to hurt him in a fight with the rest of the X-men. Hell, she couldn't even kill a ROBOT version of her first born.  
  
Then she had become pregnant with Graydon.  
  
She never loved the little whelp, having been forced to have sex with Sabretooth just to get over the border, so nothing was lost when she sent that child away from her.  
  
But then there was Rogue, and her maternal instincts beat and tied up her self-preservation instincts when dealing with her.  
  
She had found the child wandering alone in the swamps, having run away from her abusive father. Raven took her in and raised her like her own, without the sending away by either attempting to kill her or just sending her to an orphanage. She really cared for Rogue, and she felt like she had been stabbed through the heart when the girl decided to join Xavier and the X-men instead of staying with her mother.  
  
It had hurt Raven more than any flesh wound could, and she sometimes still felt the pain from that wound too.  
  
She found Destiny in the kitchen when she came down to get some breakfast. The old woman was sitting at the counter, a steaming coffee mug between her wrinkled hands. Destiny smiled and she slid the mug over to Raven, her blind eyes looking straight a head.  
  
"I checked the mail while you were getting up." She said, her voice low and somber sounding.  
  
"Anything good?" Raven asked, sitting down beside her old friend. Destiny tilted her head to one side, narrowing her eyes slightly as she thought about it for a moment.  
  
"It might be considered good." She said. "I'm not sure how you will take it, Raven."  
  
"Take what?" Raven asked.  
  
"That large brown envelope over there." Destiny said, pointing one long bony finger at the thing resting neatly beside the coffee machine. "It's addressed to you." Cocking an eyebrow, Raven picked up the letter and she found that it was indeed addressed to her, but without a return address on it.  
  
"Perhaps you should open it in your room." Destiny said. "Something tells me that you would like to be alone when you read what is inside of it." Raven looked at her friend, and she wished that she could read her expression better. Nodding faintly, she took her mug and the envelope and she headed upstairs, turning it over in her hand as she wondered what it could be.  
  
Closing her door, she set the mug down and she sat down on her bed before she opened the envelope.  
  
What she found inside were two Mother's Day cards and a letter written on parchment. The cards were handmade, one with a picture of her house on it, and the other of a forest of Bavaria. The first was from Rogue, and the latter was from Kurt.  
  
The letter however, was from both of them:  
  
***  
  
Dear Mother,  
  
We both wanted to give you something for Mother's Day, but we figured that a simple bouquet of flowers or something would be both foolish and useless in sending the message that we wish to give to you; our mother.  
  
We know that this gift may be a bit of a surprise to you, seeing as you seem to be the king of person who likes to push people away, instead of embracing them and taking them into your life.  
  
Well, we give you no choice in the matter. WE have decided to take you into our lives, and no matter how much you may struggle and argue with us, we will still consider you our loving mother, even though we are on opposite sides when it comes to dealing with the human and mutant relations.  
  
If you have not found it yet, there is a key in the bottom of the envelope, which goes to your gift that we gave Destiny instructions not to give to you until you have read this and understand our position in the situation.  
  
When you have accepted our decision and are given the gift, use the key and know that we will always love you, even if sometimes it seems that you do not love yourself.  
  
With Love,  
  
Your son Kurt and daughter Rogue  
  
***  
  
Raven stared at the letter for a moment in wonder, and then she set it down and opened the envelope wider, finding a small golden key waiting for her. Letting it fall into the palm of her hand, Raven looked at it for a moment, wondering if she should go and get the gift her children had gotten her or not.  
  
Shrugging, she set the cards and letter on her desktop and she headed downstairs, where she found Destiny waiting for her in the living room, holding a gift-wrapped box with a silken red bow on top.  
  
"I knew you would be coming for this." She said, holding it out to her. Raven took the box and she sat down on the couch. Tearing away the wrapping, Raven found herself looking a redwood polished musical box, with a golden lock sparkled at her.  
  
Inserting the key, Raven turned it and heard the click as the lock came undone. Slowly, she opened the lid, and her eyes grew wide at what she found.  
  
On a thin golden chain, there rested an amulet in the shape of a heart with arms embracing it from both sides. On the arms glittered three small gems, an emerald for Rouge, a ruby for Raven, and a sapphire for Kurt.  
  
Turning it around, Raven found a small inscription on it, and small crystal tears fell down her cheeks at last.  
  
***  
  
Forever together in the bonds of blood and love; a mother and her son and daughter.  
  
***  
  
Maybe those humans weren't so bad for making Mother's Day after all. 


End file.
